All awarding organisations need to have demonstrable evidence that their assessments are fair, fit for purpose, and reliable

Whether the calls for this evidence come from candidates, their training organisations, employers, the general public or regulatory bodies, providing this information is key to confidence in qualifications.

We help awarding organisations ensure that their assessments are working properly, and help them assemble the evidence to prove this. This includes analytical work, reporting and evidence-led action planning. It often also includes training and capacity development with AO staff, and support for strategic development working with the AO’s board.

A strong reputation

AlphaPlus is a leading assessment consultancy in the UK. Major government and AO clients rely on our Assessment Quality Improvement (AQI) service both in the UK and around the world. Our team have the expertise you’d expect – in assessment and statistics – but they are also excellent communicators, speaking and writing clearly and accurately and giving messages that are to the point and free of jargon. We provide realistic evaluations of results (not theoretical, not perfectionist), telling our clients where and why we think improvements are necessary but equally giving sensible, calm judgements of where services are good enough, or as good as they can be.

Needless to say, AlphaPlus is accredited by government agencies as a responsible handler of sensitive data and we have a strong track record of respecting confidentiality.

AQI benefits

What benefits do other organisations obtain from working with AlphaPlus?

Using analysis outputs can improve efficiency; for example, some fairly straightforward statistical output can do a great deal to enhance item writing processes.

Providing solid externally-audited evidence to support claims about the quality of qualifications.

This allows organisations to get ahead of the game, to move in a direction that is increasingly becoming a requirement of regulators.

This is about a joint agenda for enhancing the quality of our assessment industry; it’s a leading consultancy assisting high quality bodies to improve their practice.

Some reasons for choosing AlphaPlus

We provide a quality improvement service. This means using analysis to supplement your existing evidence and quality procedures, not to undermine or replace them.

Our service is bespoke – tailored for every client. You work with our team to specify which areas you need help with – for example, the types of analysis that are relevant for your assessments.

We value all types of evidence in the analysis process – we are open-minded and pragmatic. The best analysis almost always uses mixed methods and draws on different types of evidence: qualitative and quantitative. We will carry out in-depth, skilled statistical analysis, but we will also employ qualitative techniques, best practice guidance and – crucially – common sense.

We deal directly with your IT team. Getting data out of your systems can be tricky. We are happy to work with your technical teams, and we can provide detailed specifications of the data we are looking to obtain, as well as being flexible about working with what can be provided.

We write and speak clearly. Most of our clients aren’t technical, or particularly interested in the analytical detail. Our communications focus on evidence-based findings and reasoned recommendations for action. We can also provide you with datasets of analytical results that you can use for a variety of purposes – for example, well-designed spreadsheets that you can filter and sort.